Stay
by Empress Empoleon
Summary: His powers could go away right now. She could be torn apart from his life at any time. But he wants her to stay. / Ichigo, Rukia, and connecting.


_Stay._

_Staystaystaystaystay._

He doesn't want her to leave. He doesn't want the world that he's come to love to disappear. He doesn't want the feeling that he belongs somewhere to go.

He doesn't want to stop protecting her.

It's a fragile relationship right now. Sometimes his powers flicker; sometimes he's fine and sometimes his spiritual pressure disappears and it's all he can do to not die in front of the average neighborhood Hollow.

He knows she doesn't want him overtaxing himself. He knows that she wants to pay him back now; to show him she's strong enough to protect him too.

He knows she cares, and that she might think he doesn't.

She's lying on his bed now, in Yuzu's pajamas, the yellow plaid ones. Her legs are kicked up on the headboard of his bed and she's reading his manga while he does homework on his desk. Kon is smashed up against the wall, and has been like that ever since he tried to climb up Rukia's shirt.

His powers could go away right now. She could be torn apart from his life at any time.

They could be worlds apart in a single moment.

They know that and they ignore that and they live like they're going to die together.

But he wants her to stay. It's selfish and stupid and he can't do anything about it but Ichigo wants her to be there in his room, next to him, fighting alongside him forever.

"Ichigo," Rukia drawls from the bed, rolling over onto her belly to face him, closing the manga. He grunts in response.

"You know I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, right?" she says. He glances at her, and her indigo eyes are serious, so deep that he could lose himself.

He feels exposed. Vulnerable. She always makes him feel like this though. Like she can see right through him. There are never any secrets between them.

He supposes he's sort of happy she knows him so well that she can tell the deepest feelings of his heart.

"But I might be going soon," he weakly replies, putting down his pencil and looking at her. He sees something in the depths of her eyes flicker, and his own heart wavers in response.

"We'll worry about that when we get there," Rukia decides. "Until then, why think about it? You're here now, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No buts. Don't worry about it," Rukia declares it. "It doesn't suit you," she adds as an afterthought.

He can't help but chuckle. "Thanks, Rukia. For everything."

"Fool! What did I just tell you!" she yells, hitting him upside the head, but both of them are laughing like idiots. "Forget about it."

And it all comes crashing down on him because when his powers disappear he won't be able to be like this with her anymore. She won't be there to cheer him up and she won't be there to look into his soul and she won't be there.

"I need you though," he mumbles, grabbing her arm and looking up at her. She doesn't shy away.

"You have so many friends though. What about Uryu? Chad? Orihime? They're always going to be there for you."

"It has to be you," he blurts out.

Rukia blinks for a moment, and he continues to stare into her indigo depths, wondering somewhere in the back of his head if she had ever been so pretty. If she had always been the only person he saw in a room. If she had always been the one he needed by his side.

"I'll be there for you to. Always," she whispers, finally, and he detects a slight tremor in her voice.

She's scared too. She feels the same as he does, underneath her strong persona. And she probably wanted to hide her emotions to make him feel better, but for some reason he's happy knowing she's sad with him.

Silently, he reaches an arm up and pulls her down into him, hugging her close. Her arms fly around him, fitting around his torso and she buries her head into his shoulder breathing deeply. He fits a hand in her silky black hair and strokes it, and she shakes, letting herself come apart.

There's a dampness. She's crying.

Ichigo blinks quickly. He wasn't about to cry just yet. "You don't have to be strong for me. Sometimes," he says, his voice cracking as the sadness overwhelms him. "Sometimes knowing you feel the same way I do is comforting."

"This will just make it harder in the end," she moans. "There's no way I can leave you behind, Ichigo."

"Me too, Rukia," he murmurs. "Me too."

"Stay with me," they whisper at the same time.

And they do stay like that, in each others arms for a while, losing track of time in the other. When they finally break apart, Ichigo softly kisses her forehead and she leans down and kisses his cheek.

In that single moment, they connect. They just know. They know their feelings and they know what happened and they know what they want to do.

They wouldn't ask questions. They wouldn't stop to think.

They were just going to live. Live together, for as long as they could; facing tomorrow strong.

They could always fall apart in each other in the night.

* * *

A/N: First Bleach fic and so much feeeeels ugh.


End file.
